


The Untold Story After Death

by justanothernobody



Category: K-pop, Super Junior
Genre: Afterlife, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Friendship, Gen, Grief/Mourning, M/M, Multi, Near Death Experiences, i love him so much too but hae makes it easy to write these sorta things, im not even sure how to tag this tbh, pls don’t get mad at me for almost killing our manchild donghae, then again im not even sure what this story is rly abt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-07
Updated: 2019-01-07
Packaged: 2019-10-04 19:33:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,485
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17310533
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justanothernobody/pseuds/justanothernobody
Summary: It starts like this. A drunk driver accidentally runs over a guy. But the twist?The hit-and-run driver killed Super Junior’s Lee Donghae.





	The Untold Story After Death

**Author's Note:**

> This is just me milking out the last drops of inspiration I have before school steals all my time away. I kinda thought of this a few nights ago when I was ill. Also, the title really can be further improved but I came up with that the first time I thought the story out. It sits well with the story that I don’t have the heart to change it. 
> 
> Enjoy!

It starts like this. A drunk driver accidentally runs over a guy. The whole situation would be less chaotic if that guy wasn’t a member of a famous boy group.

 

The reason? The hit-and-run driver killed Super Junior’s Lee Donghae.

 

His death is mourned even by those who don’t know him well. TV news and tabloids all focus on his funeral. Thousands of fans show up with tears in their eyes. His friends make a tribute album to remember him.

 

But in the real world everything goes on. The group can only be put on hiatus for so long after he died. The group makes a comeback even if one of their members is gone.

 

What nobody knows, is how it goes in the afterlife.

 

And Donghae doesn’t exactly have a proper one yet. He’s still in that thin line between Heaven and Hell called Earth but his spirit has no body to fill.

 

So he goes to see how his friends fare.

 

•••

 

The first he sees is Heechul-hyung.

 

Heechul-hyung didn’t cry at his funeral, he heard. He was one of the 4 people carrying his casket. The loss of a friend isn’t enough to make him cry but is enough to make him blame himself for the loss.

 

After all, Heechul-hyung had sent him off the night of his accident after meeting up. He had told Donghae, “Be careful,” right before he closed his apartment door.

 

He’s also the one who heard Donghae’s last words. “See you later,” he had said. But ‘later’ never came — he was dead too early for that.

 

Heechul-hyung copes by smoking packs of cigarette. He smokes stick after stick of tobacco until he can’t even tell if there’s still any oxygen left in his lungs.

 

Donghae counts the amount he smokes daily. The result is a terrifying 4 packs per day and Donghae doesn’t know what to do with this fact.

 

The good side of him wants his hyung to stop. The bad part of it feels happy that someone’s mourning him.

 

So before he leaves Heechul-hyung to see the others he back-hugs him one night when his hyung is looking at their picture on his phone.

 

Heechul-hyung must’ve felt him at that moment. He tenses at the sudden touch and his hand goes to his waist where Donghae’s arms loop around at. He clutches at Donghae’s wrist when in reality he is holding thin air.

 

A breath of calmness leaves his lips and for once, Heechul-hyung doesn’t smoke the grief away. He leaves once his hyung falls asleep and doesn’t come and visit him since.

 

•••

 

Jongwoon-hyung is the one he comes to next.

 

Jongwoon-hyung has always been a closed-up figure. He guards his feelings stealthily and only shows his fans only what he wants them to see.

 

It’s no surprise that he locks himself further after his death.

 

They don’t seem close when the camera’s are rolling but when it’s off the two find that they’re more similar than they think they are. After all, Donghae muses, Yesung is nowhere similar to Donghae but Jongwoon is and that’s all that matters.

 

So it’s no surprise that he cries his sadness away. Except the sadness really doesn’t leave with every passing tear — it only seems to slam harder each time he curls up under the covers and soaks his pillow in moisture.

 

He used to like going out to coffee shops and boutiques a lot. But his hyung doesn’t go out anymore after Donghae died. He only goes out to work then heads straight home, and the cycle repeatedly continues.

 

Naturally, as the caring dongsaeng he is, Donghae attempts to do something about it. He sit beside Jongwoon-hyung as he gets driven home and tries to run his hand through his shoulder when he sees things that would normally pique his interest.

 

The one time he accidentally puts his hand on Jongwoon-hyung’s lap it made him stop the car. Donghae pulls away in question before he notices him staring out the window wistfully.

 

Oh. _Oh_.

 

It’s the cafe he owns with his brother that he’s looking at.

 

There’s uncertainty in his hyung’s eyes when he looks at it. His driver helps him make his decision by saying, “Go on. I’ll wait here.” That’s all the push he needs to grab his wallet and leave the car to enter the shop.

 

Donghae leaves only when he’s seen a smile grace Jongwoon-hyung’s face.

 

•••

 

Hyukjae is the last one he decides to see.

 

And safe to say Donghae isn’t quite happy to see him. Which is odd, really. His best friend is a walking beam of joy and he expects it to still be somewhat there even when he’s gone.

 

He was the one his family entrusted to hold a framed picture of him through the procession. Hyukjae’s also the one his friends chose to give a eulogy about him.

 

Hyukjae is terrible at faking so Donghae notices right away that his laughter is insincere, that his smile is made-up, and his gags are terribly rehearsed.

 

To the outside world he looks completely fine. But it’s only Donghae who can observe how grief tugs at his muscles and pull at his bones. He’s the one who sees how the crippling lost impacted his lifelong best friend. He’s the one who watches helpless as Hyukjae’s sadness transformed to misery and later turned into a monster called depression.

 

It’s when he realises, death is part loss, part denial, and 200% grief. None of it is his yet all of it is for him.

 

But the world isn’t all bad to them.

 

Donghae’s the one who manages to push the gun out of his hold right before Hyukjae clicks the trigger to his head. He’s the one who comfortingly rubs his back when Hyukjae falls to his knees and sobs.

 

Donghae’s that person who nurses his friend back to his cheerful state over the course of a few months. He helps Hyukjae forget the pain and instead cherish the memories they made.

 

When he sees Hyukjae genuinely laugh again Donghae parts with a grin on his face.

 

•••

 

The next time he wakes up Heaven’s called for him. Donghae’s laying on soft clouds and looking at a sky that’s impossibly blue.

 

A man greets him, “Good morning,” and he instantly sobers up. That voice, he would recognise it no matter what. It’s—

 

“Dad!”

 

Donghae stands up and runs to hug the man that is his father. It’s a familiar embrace, a warmth he misses dearly. He stays in the touch for long moments simply savouring the comfort.

 

When they pull away his father has a smile on his face. Donghae’s eyes are damp from the overflowing emotion he feels.

 

“Son, I can’t stay here long.”

 

And that giddy expression on Donghae’s face falls into a frown. He’s not sure by what he means so he asks, “Why?”

 

His father places an arm around his shoulder and pulls him close. “You’ve got things to do down there on Earth.”

 

He blinks dumbly at his father then answers, “But dad, I’ve died.”

 

His confusion is practically dripping out of every single syllable that comes out of his mouth. He wears a puzzled expression on his face.

 

The reply is, “It’s not time for your death yet.”

 

Donghae stays silent. Stares quizzically at his father. The smile on his face only seems to perk up, “Promise me you’ll always do what makes you happy, Donghae.”

 

There’s a pause. Then his world goes blindingly white.

 

•••

 

He opens his eyes and he’s standing in front of the crossroad. The night is cold and silent. He sees another him standing at the opposite end of the road by the pedestrian light checking his phone. Donghae realises—

 

 _This was the night of his accident._

 

When the other him puts out his foot to start crossing the street he sprints over. Donghae swiftly runs to the other side and pushes the other him back. The force must’ve been shocking as he falls to the pavement with wide eyes. A car, the one that had hit him, passes by and all the other Donghae can do is stare as it drives past. 

 

Other him blinks confusedly and stands up again. He rubs the dust off his coat. Slips his phone into his back pocket. This time he looks both ways before crossing the road, and Donghae sighs in relief.

 

Suddenly his form fades, disappears from the leg going upwards. A second passes by and then—

 

When he blinks again he’s standing awkwardly on the other side the road. Donghae halts his steps. His body twitches as he looks back.

 

There’s no one there, yet he feels _something_ had been there.

 

He shrugs his shoulders and tugs down the cap he’s wearing. Donghae opens his phone to the messaging app. He opens his last chat with Hyukjae and sends :

 

 

 _I had the weirdest feeling just now._

 

**Author's Note:**

> Moral of the story : always look both ways when you cross the road lmao. In case the story made no sense basically spirit!hae consoled his friends, his dad tells him “no you ain’t supposed to die yet lol”, and then he gets another chance at life. I originally wanted to kill him off, but I couldn’t do it to our precious Hae so yay he’s alive \0/
> 
> Crossposted on AFF under mp_2506


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